Although the students haven't arrived yet, my stress level by the end of today was pretty high and my brain was on serious overload (I even told Mrs. Hammer this :)... ). Today was my second day of student teaching, where the day was filled with an opening day celebration for the entire Waterloo Community School District, a BASE Team meeting, a literacy meeting, and then followed by more organization in the classroom. Our days have been so busy but I am constantly learning, but today, I learned so much that my brain didn't know what to do with all the information. However, when I got home, I did take a long walk to relax myself, took a few deep breaths and told myself that everything was going to be okay.
I had so many amazing learning opportunities today that I need to share them with all of you! So, let's get started!
My first and biggest learning experience yet was the opening day celebration for the entire Waterloo School District. All of the teachers in the Waterloo Community School District met at Gallagher Bluedorn for an opening ceremony to welcome all the teachers back into the school year. Let me tell you...I have never seen so many teachers all in one place! :) It was so amazing to see so many teachers all there for the exact same reason...to make an impact on student lives. The theme of the opening ceremony was "Believe." The main speaker was John Draper, the CEO of the Educational Research Service. I will talk about him more in one my next blog posts because he had such an inspiring message and I want to share it with all of you. Overall, the opening day ceremony was an awesome opportunity to partake in and I got to see a few familiar faces within the school district. I experienced a very important event and I am so lucky to have had this opportunity to attend such a phenomenal event...it was even on KWWL! :) Below are some pictures of the brochure we received when entering the auditorium!
Presenting...
Waterloo Community School District's
Opening Day Celebration
In the inside of the brochure there was an agenda for the opening day celebration, the mission of the Waterloo Community School District, and the three teachers who received the 2012 Gold Star Teacher award!
My aspiring dream is to be a Gold Star Teacher...one very important goal I have for myself in my teaching career!
After the opening day celebration, my coworkers and I set out for a lunch date at Hu Hot. It was a great lunch and gave us some time to sit, relax, and visit with one another...but then, it was back to work!
After returning from lunch, we went straight into a meeting with the Lead Teacher of the school to discuss BASE Team meetings. These BASE Team meetings are done within each grade level, where all teachers of the same grade meet with one another to collect data on their students, analyze it, and see what they need to improve to meet the learning needs of each student. Through this meeting, I learned a lot about the BASE Team procedure, but I will have more intense information after attending my first official BASE Team meeting, which is set for August 28! :)
When we were done with that meeting, the Kindergarten teachers and I met with the literacy coach who provided us with some materials about the student's writing curriculum. This year, they are trying a new curriculum, so she presented us with a booklet of information to serve as a guide when teaching this new curriculum. Each student will be presented with a writing handbook to practice their handwriting in general, their alphabet, and numbers. This information was great to be exposed to and it's awesome that these teachers are providing me with all of this awesome information and materials! Below are some pictures of the handwriting guide we received...I can't wait to start using it! :)
Doesn't it look so professional?? :)
This seems so mindless, but we all had to learn it somehow! :) I just love it...don't you?!
As you can see, this day was filled with many amazing learning opportunities and I couldn't have been more thankful for each and every one of them. I learned so much today. I hope you all are enjoying reading all of this wonderful information...and as you can see now...teachers don't just play with kids. Their roles are so much more important and often people underestimate the life of a teacher. It's tiring, stressful, and always busy...but so ENTIRELY worth it when the kids show up on the first day and are so excited to be there! I cannot wait for this moment to happen in less than 48 hours! Let the countdown begin! :) Until then, stay safe and enjoy reading!
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